Page 65 of Made to Be

I could see the apologies getting ready to spill from his lips, so I lunged up to plant my mouth firmly against his, preemptively silencing them. I pulled back just as quickly, leaving him blinking down at me in a daze.

“Do you remember how to get to your old place?” I asked him and he cocked his head in confusion. “Satan, you’re so adorable.” I went to my toes to loop my arms around his neck and smacked another kiss against his cheek.

“I do...” he began hesitantly, brow quirked. “Why?”

“I bet we’re not too late. Want to go get your stuff?”

***

Seeing as Cam was legally deceased, wiping police records of the accident was well beyond my means, it was only a matter of time before his landlord found out. I didn’t know how that process worked, but Ididn’t much care as long as we recovered anything that was important to Cam.

We’d had to stop back at my house to grab the keys that had been among his belongings when I’d brought him home. I had asked Alice about the rest of his possessions from his accident, but his phone and other items had been damaged beyond repair. I already had plans to get him a new one soon.

The drive was nice, mainly peaceful two-lane roads until we entered the quaint town. If I had to guess, it was probably half the size of Briarwood, and that was saying something. His old apartment was an end unit in a long motel-style building. When we stood outside of the plain yellowed door, I held my breath as he tried the key, worried his landlord had found out about Cam’s death and already changed out the locks and gotten a new tenant. I released that breath when the lock unclicked, and we stepped inside.

I was concerned about getting caught by the neighbors, but Cam said he’d never spoken to or met any of them. So, he wasn’t concerned about being seen or recognized.

I took in the small space as the door shut behind us. And... yeah, small was an understatement. Even some of the motel rooms I had stayed in for a time when I was homeless were bigger than this space.

The main area was the small living room with its simple sofa, coffee table, and a small kitchenette. One door sat along the right wall which probably led tothe bathroom or bedroom. There wasn’t much for things in here, just a few wilted plants and a dog-eared novel on the low table. A couple dishes sat in the sink and an empty pizza box was resting on the counter. But that was it.

Cam was watching me, posture tense and expression somewhat nervous. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s not much. Your home is... much more comfortable.”

I rubbed Cam’s arm soothingly. “It’s cute. Well, let’s gather up your things, shall we?”

He gave me a relieved smile when that was that, body visibly relaxing. I didn’t even think he’d realized the tension he was carrying in those broad shoulders.

We made quick work of packing the several bags I’d brought with us. It broke my heart that he really didn’t have much. Some clothes, a few books, his bathroom items... He did have some baking stuff and a few recipe books which I’d packed up with care, and a lot of plants. But those were a little worse for wear, most having not survived the nearly two weeks without water.

“’Wanna take these?” I asked him holding up a wilted fern in one hand and a browned leafy one in the other.

“No point,” he sighed sadly. “Unless you have a magic green thumb.”

“Well, now that you mention it...” I began as I stepped over to the small kitchen sink. Grabbing a cup, I ran the tap for some water and maneuvered back to the collection of sad plants, each in varying stages of death. He even had a particularly large Venus Flytrap. I aimed for that one first and poured a little water over the wilted, bristled heads. I thought the spell in my mind and watched as the stems rose back to life, the plant’s bristles lazily opening and closing as if waking from a long slumber.

“You seem like a plant guy.” I winked. “Let’s take them; I can fix the rest once we get back. I know the perfect spot you can set them all up for the best sunlight.” Then, thinking that maybe that comment was being far too presumptuous, I added, “Ya know, for now.”

Cam’s joy was overflowing and before I knew it, I was being swept up into his arms. The breath was pushed from my lungs with an “Oof!” as he lifted me from the ground and spun us in circles. Once I was thoroughly dizzy, he set me down and gave my cheek a lingering kiss, his arms still wrapped around my waist.

With that, we made quick work of gathering up the plants to deposit them into my car. We were unusually quiet as we did so. Despite the reaction I had just received from Cam, my insecurities began taking root. I couldn’t tell what was going through Cam’s head, but I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe Cam didn’t want to stay with me. That was, at my house.Yeah, we obviously liked each other; our chemistry was insane. Emotionally, physically, in every way we were perfect for each other. I could only hope that he felt the same way. But that still didn’t mean he would be interested in living with me while we began dating. Even under the loose pretense of being “roommates.”

I suddenly felt the need to fill the silence between us and clear any possible misunderstandings, like that I didn’t want him to live with me, which I absolutely did.

Once everything had been loaded up, my backseat and trunk were full but not as stuffed as a person moving out of an apartment should have made it, I told him,

“Eventually we can get you your own place. Once we figure out what to do about getting you a new identity.” Because that was a whole other problem. “But you know...” I cleared my throat, “I do have the spare room and, well, the idea of having a roommate isn’t so bad.” His eyes widened as he listened to my clumsy offer. “I mean, you don’t have to live with me if you don’t want to. But you can stay as long as you need to. I like you being there with me and the ghost even likes you and Jinx does too and-”

Cam’s lips on mine shut up my nervous ramblings. He kissed me deeply, thoroughly, and far too obscenely for being out in the open. His tongue wound with mine in its lazily exploration of my mouth. Whenhe sucked my tongue behind his lips, I released a soft gasp that he greedily swallowed.

He pulled back enough to gaze down at me, but I was still clutching the front of his shirt with slightly trembling fingers. I wasn’t quite ready to let go, so I didn’t. And he didn’t move away either. His warm palm caressed my cheek, and I nuzzled into his gentle touch.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked before adding, “Because I like being there with you too. Ghost and all.”

I huffed a laugh, “You two will become best friends, I’m sure. As long as she doesn’t peep on us having sex, I won’t have to exorcise her.”

His brows rose before he leaned down into my space. “Oh yeah? Do you think about us having sex a lot, Victor?”